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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Mushrooms with Chinese Goose Liver Sausage (and a giveaway)

Through almost seven years of blogging I realize, with a
start, that I haven’t really changed all that much. Well, I have grown somewhat I’d like to
think. I believe I can safely say that
my photography skills have improved to some extent – although, truth be told, I
suspect that is largely due to my camera upgrade than from any amazing talent
on my part. I have also, finally,
managed to smarten up the look here – although that is, by and large, due to the
talents my lovely blog designer. So
yes, there have been changes….but the basic essence of it, its soul (if you
will allow me a little cheesiness here), remains the same.

And really, I’m glad for it. For me, this blog has always been, from that
first hopeful post in 2005 until now (a husband, a baby, and two moves later),
an extension of my person, and as such, has always been immensely
personal. My food, my thoughts, my
culinary journey. Simple, overly and
overtly simple at times…but, without doubt or discussion, all mine.

So, you could say, I am not the most savvy when it comes
to what is actually going on “out there” in the heady world of blogging. While others launch themselves wholeheartedly
into a flurry of new and exciting ways to reach and interact with more readers,
I’ve been right here clacking away at my keyboard, on my third latte, happily
tucking into a Canadian ham/brie/wilted wild arugula/chipotle fried egg tartine. I am blithering dolt at parties
when people ask me about product reviews and sponsors and “how to engage
readers” or “tap into more bloggers”. I
can tell you how to make really good scrambled eggs though! Search Engine Optimization? No clue. Pork Belly Caramelization? That I can do!

Be all that as it may, I just wanted to say, I DO love
you dear readers! Oh so very much
actually. Have I been a bad, bad blogger
for not optimizing my reaching out to you?
If I have, I am sorry. To make it
up to you I have decided to have a giveaway!
Your comments and emails are a big part of the inspiration that goes
into making this little space such a haven for me. Let me show my gratitude with…mushrooms :)

- Place the soy sauce, oyster sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and
sugar in a small bowl and mix well. Set
aside.

- Heat and wok or skillet on medium high heat. When hot add a swirl of canola oil. When the oil is hot add the sausage and sauté
for a few minutes until sausage softens a bit and edges are slightly toasted. Remove from pan a set aside.

- Add mushrooms to the pan and toss. Add part of the sauce mixture, toss until all
the mushrooms are coated, and cover. Let
this cook for a couple more minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms
have softened.

- Add sausage back to the pan along with the rest of the
sauce mixture, stir, and cook just until the mushrooms have fully softened. If it gets too dry add a bit of water.

I stingily used the last of my Chinese goose liver
sausage for this and I can say, with all confidence, that it was well worth
it. Have this with heaps, and I do mean
heaps, of steaming white rice and you will be in Chinese goose liver sausage
nirvana. Which is, in my book, a very
good place to be.

So, without further ado…what I am giving away, to one
lucky reader, is a pack of dried oyster mushrooms from the Ministry of Mushrooms! I have mentioned them before
here and I have been an avid customer since I first came upon them. I love mushrooms, and I love local purveyors
who are passionate about what they stand behind. So I have decided to share that love with you.

I will need to limit this giveaway to readers within the Philippines
– sadly, I can’t guarantee that posting some mushrooms overseas will go off without a
hitch. For all of you over here, all you
have to do is leave a comment, that’s it!
Before my next blog post (which should be a week from now) I will put
all your names in a hat, and pick one, and ta-da, the mushrooms are yours! I will announce the winner in my next blog
post.

If lots of you think that this is fun then we will definitely
do it again. I have a bunch of ideas
already brewing in my head and I can’t wait to share, literally, the things I
love with you! Happy weekend friends!

You're in the Philippines? Wow! I honestly thought you're a Filipino living in the States. Hahaha!

BTW, don't worry that you don't know about SEO or sponsorships and whatnot. I've long believed that if you have a great product (in this case, your blog) promoting it is not really very necessary. Word travels fast, especially online. So many years of blogging! I wish I had a niche blog like yours. My interests are too scattered to limit what I write about to one topic. Haha!

I love your blog i find it very entertaining and i love mushrooms as well! sauté and season lightly with fresh cracked peppers and salt, drizzled with a bit of olive oil. Yum! I usually pair this with blanched asparagus and side salad for an excellent but still filling dinner.

Joey - it's all in the writing. You always have great stories and you tell them with grace, joy and generosity. I think most of us would rather read a well-crafted post/story from the heart every so often than a host of random postings. This is what makes your blog entries worth waiting for - and I've pretty much always felt gifted after reading them. Just keep doing what you're doing :)